The Membrane Potential Flashcards
Know what a dendrite, axon, axon hillock, soma, and synaptic cleft are.
Do it.
What is a coulomb a measure of?
Electrical charge (charge transported by 1 Amp for 1 sec)
Coulombs of a proton?
1x10(-19) C
What is Avagadro’s #?
Molecules in a substance
6.022 x 10(23)
What is Faraday’s Constant?
Charge on a mole of any monovalent ion
Coulombs X Avagadro
What is voltage a measure of?
Potential Difference (E) Work required to move a unit of charge from one point to another
What is current?
Current is the net flow of charge. It is measured in amperes (C/sec).
What is resistance?
Measure of the ease with which a current flows
Measured in Ohms
E/I
What is conductance? Measurement?
Reciprocal of Resistance (I/E)
Siemens
Relative levels of Na, K, and Cl inside the cell (rather than outside the cell)
High K+ in cell
Low Na and Cl inside
What do ions pass through in a cells?
ion specific channels
What is the ionic equilibrium potential?
An electrical potential difference across the membrane caused by the selective permeability/ionic gradients of the cell membrane.
The thin membrane facilitates what occurance when positive ions leave the cell.
Attraction of negative ions to the opposite side of the membrane.
Is most of the cellular fluid chargeD?
No
T or F. Equilibrium is established when there is no net ion movement across the cell membrane.
True
What influences the rate of flow of an ion across a PM?
Concentration Gradient
Voltage Difference
Conductance of Ion Channels
What is the Nernst equation used for?
Determines the equilibrium potential for a single ion